Progress Amid Resistance

•★yemenby Elham ManeaPOPULATION: 22,880,000GNI PER CAPITA: US$864COUNTRY RATINGS 2004 2009NONDISCRIMINATION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE: 1.9 1.9AUTONOMY, SECURITY, AND FREEDOM OF THE PERSON: 2.0 1.9ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: 1.8 1.9POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIC VOICE: 2.1 2.0SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS: 2.1 2.0(COUNTRY RATINGS ARE BASED ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5, WITH 1 REPRESENTING THE LOWEST AND 5 THEHIGHEST LEVEL OF FREEDOM WOMEN HAVE TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS)INTRODUCTIONThe Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s DemocraticRepublic of Yemen (South Yemen) united on May 22, 1990, to form thepresent-day Republic of Yemen. North Yemen had been established as atribal-military polity in 1962 after the overthrow of the theocratic ZaydiShiite imamate. By contrast, South Yemen, which gained its independencefrom Britain in 1967, was the only Marxist regime in the Arab world. Thetwo countries’ attempts to unify were long hindered by political differences,including two wars, but the process was accelerated in part by theend of the Cold War. A 1994 civil war between northern and southernfactions ended with the victory of the close circle of tribal, sectarian, andmilitary groups led by Ali Abdallah Salih, who had ruled North Yemensince 1978 and remains united Yemen’s president to date.Yemen has a vibrant civil society and media that do not shy away fromcriticizing the government. However, its political system is increasinglydominated by one party, the General People’s Congress (GPC), despite acompetitive presidential election in 2006. In February 2009, the parliamentapproved a two-year postponement of that year’s legislative elections,perpetuating the GPC’s control. The Salih regime is facing an increasinglyvocal southern movement against alleged northern hegemony, and a545